Assistant Coach Bo Reid
Entering his 18th year as a collegiate softball coach, Bo Reid enters his second season as a Mississippi State assistant and his sixth as a Southeastern Conference coach, officially joining the Bulldog staff on June 22, 2000.Reid's duties include, but are not limited to, pitching instruction, equipment and facility management, strength and conditioning scheduling and coordinating camps and clinics.
"I believe that Bo Reid is one of the finest pitching coaches in the country," said head coach Kathy Arendsen. "He has passion and, as a coach, helps players become the best that they can be. I think that he has endeared himself tremendously to our players and to, without a doubt, our coaches. He is very loyal and honest and is a true Bulldog.
"It is just a tremendous asset to our program to have him involved. I know that our pitching is going to be a surprise to many of our competitors because I know what he is doing with them. I have no doubt that we are going to see some wonderful improvements from our pitching staff. "
During the past four seasons with Georgia, Reid molded a remarkable foundation with the Georgia pitchers. Due to his extensive work with the Bulldog battery, Reid's pitching staff ranked amongst the best staffs in the conference following every season of his tenure in Athens, Ga.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to join the Mississippi State softball staff," Reid said. "I have a long and outstanding relationship with coach Arendsen and I am very happy now to get the chance to work alongside her. Mississippi State is a team of the future and I am very excited about being a part of this program."
An accomplished fastpitch hurler, Reid retired from competitive pitching in 1995, but not before leading his team to the national tournament in nine of the last 10 years of his career. A highlight of his playing stint came in 1992 when he pitched nine games in a 24-hour period, including four consecutive no-hitters.
He made his debut in the softball coaching world in 1984, working with Spartanburg Methodist as an assistant coach, spending one season before joining Alleen Hawkins' staff at Furman University. The pair worked together 11 seasons with the Paladins before making the transition to the Southeastern Conference in Athens.
In his first season with Georgia, Reid's development of the Bulldog pitchers showed quickly as Georgia finished as one of the better pitching teams in the conference, tallying a 2.39 team ERA while allowing the third-fewest hits among the 11 SEC softball-playing institutions.
One of his pitchers, Natalie Price, was the only freshman to finish in the top 10 of nine statistical categories in the Southeastern Conference in 1997, including third in strikeouts and complete games. Her 792 career strikeouts currently ranks second in the conference. She also collected SEC Pitcher of the Week honors three times in 1999.
Born July 22, 1949, in Greenville, S.C., Reid is the father of two children, son B.J. and daughter Ryan, a former pitcher at Meridian Community College, and also has two granddaughters, Elizabeth and Alison. His hobbies include softball, bowling and watching movies.